We Happy Few launch trailer is quirky to the bone

Today, Compulsion Games showed off the We Happy Few launch trailer. According to the studio, the game is the tale of a plucky bunch of moderately-terrible people trying to escape from a lifetime of cheerful denial in the city of Wellington Wells. In this alternate England, conformity is key. You have to fight or blend in with the drug-using inhabitants to survive.

While the trailer mostly focuses on the environment, we get a great taste of the story and characters. The game is definitely a unique take on a dystopian society and explores the consequences of denial. No matter how many hallucinogenic substances the populace takes, the truth eventually prevails because there are always members of society who can see right through it.

We Happy Few is scheduled to launch on August 10, 2018 for Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4. The game started off as a crowdfunded project, but the developer eventually decided to team up with Gearbox Publishing to increase the scope of the game. This means that We Happy Few will include a full-length story campaign, more playable characters, and hundreds of unique encounters.

Even though Compulsion Games is now part of Microsoft Studios, the deal with Gearbox Publishing — before the acquisition — allows them to release We Happy Few on PlayStation 4. The game doesn't support Xbox One X at the moment.